King John's Castle in Limerick. Irish history etched in every stone. Visit this place!
HTML-код
- Опубликовано: 17 сен 2024
- I am in Limerick again, to visit an incredible 13th Century castle on the banks of the mighty Shannon. This part of Limerick, named King’s Island, dates back to previous Viking settlements in 922, so this part of Limerick’s been inhabited for a long time.
A lot of work goes into these videos. You can now buy me a pint as a means of appreciation for my work on Naked Ireland, no obligation, obviously - only if you can afford it... I appreciate it. Cheers.
www.buymeacoff...
The castle is sometimes called Limerick Castle, but first we’re going to visit a monument called The Wild Geese, which commemorates the families that fled Limerick after the siege, which we’ll talk about in a minute. The fountain was renovated recently and was originally a gift from the Government of Spokane in Washington USA.
The mighty fort was built in 1210 under the orders of King John of England. It was a key piece of infrastructure from that point onwards, protecting the town from the Gaelic Kingdoms in the west as well as from Norman Lords inhabiting the South and East. It was John’s castle that secured stability in Limerick allowing it to grow rich until the advent of 5 separate sieges in the 17th Century.
The castle was redeveloped in 2013 at a cost of €5.7 million Euros. And you can see, not only one of the other towers of the castle, but also the new visitors complex, which has obviously been designed to contrast as much as possible with the medieval castle - and that’s not a bad idea. It’s always good to see a clear distinction between the old and the new.
Before passing into the castle grounds (which as you’ll see are spectacular), you pass through the new exhibition centre, an area full of models and multimedia technology designed to bring history to life in the castle for the young and the old.
There’s no doubt about it that the animations and multimedia realisations are impressive and it’s this facility as well as the new visitor centre itself that was funded by the €5.7 million. I think the visitor centre is probably a good addition to the site but I wonder if maybe it should be possible to gain access purely to the castle at a cheaper rate, for those who just want to see the building?
We visit the ‘Undercroft’. This most ancient part of the castle has the remains of two Ostmen Houses, discovered in 1990 and thought to be the oldest houses in Limerick. The undercroft is proof that the castle was built on a previous Viking settlement. And then we exit and ascend the steps which bring us up into the castle courtyard.
Now again this original area of the castle has been renovated to make the place more family friendly I suspect. Personally I’m not keen on this kind of theme park approach, but I accept that kids will enjoy this more than simply walking around a bare castle. I guess the argument is that it brings history alive. I wish there was a better way to bring history alive. It’s all a bit Disneyland. The idea is obviously that you can see the various trades and workplaces that would have been situated here.
The 17th Century was a particularly turbulent time in Ireland. The most famous siege (The siege of Limerick) was by an Irish Confederate force in 1642. The castle at that time was occupied by protestants fleeing the Irish rebellion of 1641. The foundation of a section of the walls were deliberately undermined by the attaching force in that siege so that they had to eventually be torn down. But the castle was besieged no less than 5 times during the 17th Century.
And of course one of the things you must do if you come here is climb up to the top of the towers for a great view over Limerick. And once inside the castle you’re presented with a range of castle rooms, displaying ancient artefacts. And you can get some sense here of just how thick the walls are. It’s hard to imagine how you could do any damage to this place in a siege without modern weapons. Even then - this place looks like it could hold its own.
As always I these visits to ancient sites, you need to have some level of fitness and mobility to be able to get around them.
But its seeing the actual fabric of these buildings, and how they’re put together that facinates me, rather than the multimedia areas, but each to their own. To me, walking between these stony walls is the only interaction I need. These buildings are just so incredible, and it’s so amazing that they’re still standing today and that we can visit them.
Another draw for the castle is that they have concerts here in the courtyard - big ones too. Van Morrison has played here, and Paul Weller performed here during this summer. So I think it’s fair to say that every effort is made here to pull people in. And I think places like this should function in the modern world.
I should mention as well that the newly built section houses a gift shop and café too, so you can really make a day of this, and spend time in the castle.
Great castle. Cahir Castle and Donegal Castle are awesome too.
Thanks Stephanie, I already made a short film on Donegal castle, which you can seek out, but Cahir in Tipperary is on the list. Many thanks for tuning in.
Thanks. Astonishing - the English didn't mess around, what an immense structure when there maybe were only 20,000 people in Limerick. Even the little island of InisBofin, there was a military there. St Mary's Cathedral is breathtaking and extraordinary as well. I was in Limerick 2022, O'Connell Street a disaster zone construction - must return. Several wonderful pubs!
Yes, they were doing construction work at the top of O’Connell street when I made my film about it - which you can seek out. St Marys Cathedral is coming soon. Thanks for watching.
Incredible castle. We’ve never been to Limerick but I did buy a horse from there who was amazing. :) We tend to prefer visiting ruins. Like you though, we understand they need to make historic sites a real destination to generate the funds for maintenance etc. Sometimes that means sacrificing some of the ambience.
Yes I guess you’re right about sacrificing ambience 🥺
An interesting place, I didn't go there when I visited Limerick. I don't have great memories of my visit to be honest, we turned up on a bus in the rain and went to the tourist board to find B&B, we ended up miles out of town. Though a love of Irish white pudding was born while there, so not all bad 😁. A place I always though I should revisit and give it a fair go.
Yes I think Limerick’s a place that’s improved a lot, like many Irish towns and cities.
@@nakedireland 22 yrs since I was there and not in a good mood 😆 Great B&B we had though with awesome breakfast, lots of home made brown. Ended up hiring a car from Shannon airport, a model of car I fell in love with and still drive today! 😁So my visit wasn't all bad and it began ten days of seeing Ireland on only R and unclassified roads, happy days.
What was the car?
@@nakedireland Nissan Micra K11. Had a ball with it and owned 4 since and the best cars ever had.
What a fantastic place ! History in stone. There's so much to take in. First the mighty Shannon! Now that's a River. Can you imagine rowing a Viking longship up that current! The rapids would have been a challenge, but they were good at that. Remember the Normans were the Vikings dressed up in Frankish court fashion, but none of the foppish carry on. For an excellent look into the life of King John, I strongly recommend Dan Jones's "The Plantagenets". In fact the audiobook is superb listening, and it's got me through some hard days at the work bench. The siege I'm more familiar with is the 1690's Williamite Wars. Sarsfield and Captain Hogan and the Black Cavalry. I'm not sure about the new building, but that's just me. You get a feel of the conditions of the life in side though. The open areas would have held the cattle safe as well as horses. Milling troops , freaked out peasant's and even more freaked out upper classes. The smell would have been shocking. Great views Greg, great wee show.
Many thanks for that - great tips for further study! On the new building -I quite like the design, but not sure about some of the materials. Realistically, if we build a new part of an historic building then it should be able to outlast the original. But let’s face it, that won’t happen here, however sleek and clever it looks. Thanks for watching and contributing as always.
It's always a buzz waiting to see what your going to show next! I only hope I'm not too much. Thanks for the feedback, your humour is always appreciated 🤪
I enjoy your insights and look forward to your feedback every week Des!
Every year for the past 30 years my wife and I and our kids have attended and taken part of what has become the largest Mediaeval Tournament/ Reenactment in the Southern Hemisphere. The Abbey Tournament. So Castle's, Cathedrals and ancient landscapes that you visit and share have a special meaning to us. Cheers!!
Oh one last thing, Van Morrison's Da used to clean our windows in Bingnian Dr!!
Hate limerick best part of it is the road out of the city , nice video 👍
Ha ha, you don’t mince your words! Thanks for watching.